Work In Progress: Kyle Stanley's work habits, focus part of Clemson golf lore

During his career as a Clemson golfer, Kyle Stanley was just a bit ahead of his time.

Who might have appreciated the Tigers' sparkling new clubhouse, locker rooms and state of the art practice facilities more than Stanley - golf's version of a basketball gym rat who in his three seasons at Clemson set a program standard with his work habits, focus and attention to detail?

"It's something that we teach," said coach Larry Penley three years ago after Stanley wrapped up his collegiate career with his second NCAA Tournament runner-up finish in three seasons. "But Kyle came with it already built in, and then he took it to a whole 'nuther level."

Before Stanley even arrived at Clemson, Penley stated matter-of-factly "this one is special - D.J. special."

D.J. being Trahan, who showed the 2003 Tigers the way to NCAA Championship and was on the scene Sunday afternoon when Stanley completed one of the most spectacular one-week turnarounds in PGA Tour history and notched his first professional victory.

From his fourth-place perch, Trahan watched as Stanley shrugged off the crushing disappointment of his blown seven-shot final round lead at Torrey Pines and fashioned a golden-round 66 - six birdies, no bogeys and a string of steel-nerved pars down TPC Scottsdale’s treacherous finishing stretch to win the Phoenix Open at the expense of a final-round collapse by Spencer Lavin not all that different from Stanley's own plunge of a week earlier.

If Lavin can take solace in precedent, he need look no farther than the 24-year-old Stanley, who came to Clemson all the way from Gig Harbor, WA in the fall of 2006 with the intention of winning championships and preparing himself for his destiny.

"I really never thought of doing anything else," Stanley once said after being asked what led him to the game. "It just didn't occur to me."

Kyle Stanley holds the championship trophy after winning the Phoenix Open golf tournament Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012, in Scottsdale, Ariz. Stanley came from behind to win the tournament, scoring a final round 65, for a tournament total of 15-under par.(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

On Sunday, after his tears of disappointment had been transformed into tears of joy, Stanley first thanked his parents – Matt and Michele - for their support, and then headed off with his new on-course partner, caddy Brett Waldeman, for a celebratory feast at In-and-Out Burger (three double-doubles 'animal style’).

By Monday, Stanley was almost certainly back to work, fine-tuning some detail of his game.

"My dad taught me that talent was only going to get me so far," Stanley told PGATour.com after his victory on Sunday. "If I wanted to be the best, I was going to have to combine talent with a great work ethic. You've got to have dreams, and you've got to set goals. There has to be a purpose in everything you do."

Working For A Goal

Stanley’s work habits are a piece of Clemson golf lore.

During his three years in the Upstate, Stanley did – indeed – eat, sleep and go to school.

The rest of the time, he spent working on his golf game.

And not ‘working’ in some vague, half-hearted, unfocused way.

Kyle Stanley looks over his putt on the 4th hole during the first round of the Phoenix Open golf tournament on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/The Arizona Republic, Rob Schumacher)

“Kyle could get more done in an hour than anybody else could accomplish in four or five,” said Penley.

“Nobody works like Kyle works,” teammate David May once said. “He knows what he wants, and he knows how to get it done.”

Stanley’s practice hours added up, and meant long hours, as well, for Penley and associate head coach Jordan Byrd.

“Kyle would have loved the practice set-up we have now,” Penley said. “But back then, we had always had lights (because the golf driving range doubled as an RV parking lot for football games), and at night, that was Kyle’s domain.

“For a year and a half, Kyle and I would be down here at night, from 9 to midnight, until he got really comfortable with working on his own. We’d get the rest of the team together for practice, and we’d send him up to The Reserve…

“His practice regimen is legendary, and it’s been well-communicated to our current players. He’s a great example for any young player.”

Stanley’s work and focus paid off.

He won the Aloha Classic in Hawaii as a first-semester freshman in the fall of 2006, and went on to a rookie season unprecedented in Clemson golf history. He set 18 Clemson freshman records, earned first-team All-America honors and was named ACC player of the year. He went on to finish as runner-up at the NCAA Championship Tournament – the best showing by a Tiger since Charles Warren won the national title a decade earlier.

Kyle Stanley watches his tee shot on the 18th hole during third round of the Farmers Insurance Open Golf tournament in San Diego, Saturday, Jan., 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

He followed with another All-ACC, All-America season in 2008, and he contemplated turning pro after finishing seventh in the NCAA tournament and leading Clemson to a No. 5 finishing in the team standings.

Ultimately, he opted for one more season of college golf – less because he had any doubts about whether his golf game was ready for the next level than because he wanted to give himself another year to ready himself mentally to take on the full-time grind of professional golf.

Stanley kicked off his junior season by winning the Carpet Capital Collegiate at the challenging Farm in Rocky Face, GA, and went on to log his second runner-up finish at the NCAA Championship Tournament.

He turned pro that summer after playing in the U.S. Open as an amateur, with the distinction of being the only player in college golf history to have finished in the top 10 of three NCAA tournaments.

Persistence and Process

When Stanley won the Phoenix Open on Sunday, completing a dramatic turnaround from the crushing disappointment of his final-hole collapse at Torrey Pines a week earlier, Penley was elated, but he was surprised only by the one-week time frame of Stanley’s bounce-back.

Penley said he knew Stanley would “be OK” because it’s in his very make-up.

“As hurt as he was – and he was hurt – he took what happened and learned from it,” Penley said. “Kyle is incredibly process and preparation-oriented. It’s in his make-up, it’s in his DNA. Everything is about the way he practices and the way he prepares.

“When you have those building blocks already in place, then you have something to fall back on…Kyle knew he was playing well. So the thing for him to do was get up on the first tee (at Phoenix) and play – ‘It’s working, so let’s get it going.’

“That took a lot of courage and a lot of toughness. But Kyle is a tough kid.”

Stanley’s entry to the PGA Tour was not without some bumps in the road.

The summer after turning pro, he played five tournaments via sponsor’s exemptions, made the cut in four, and earned $132,039. His first shot at Q-School left him short of his PGA Tour card goal and headed off to the Nationwide Tour for his first full pro season.

He had an up-and-down ride, as he missed the cut in 10 of 26 tournaments. Although he had six top-10 finishes, he failed to make the 25-man cutoff for automatic PGA Tour qualification.

On his second shot at Q-School, he broke through with a ninth-place finish and earned full standing on the 2011 PGA Tour.

Last season, Stanley did everything except win.

He made the cut in 22 of 28 tournaments, finished in the top 10 nine times and the top five on four occasions. He earned $1,523,657, which made him one of 2011’s top-performing rookies.

Always In The Hunt

Despite his hunger for the winner’s circle, Stanley opened the 2012 season with an unchanged goal.

“Kyle’s goal for his year is to just put himself in position as many times as he can,” said Penley. “That takes a little of the pressure off.”

Whatever Stanley was feeling as he headed into the final stretch of holes at TPC Scottsdale on Sunday, he didn’t let it show. And more importantly, he didn’t let the pressure of another chance to win – or the memory of what happened a week earlier – affect his execution.

He birdied six of his first 14 holes on Sunday to go six-under for his round and 15-under for the tournament, and then he steadied himself and put together a string of four consecutive pars on his way to his first professional victory.

A month into the 2012 season, he’s already earned more money than he made all last year. He leads the tour’s money list and the Fed Ex Cup Standings, and he’s punched his ticket for The Masters.

Two weeks ago, he was ranked No. 149 in the world. Today, he’s ranked No. 52, and is on the verge of wrapping up a spot in the 64-man Accenture World Match-Play Championship.

Stanley’s every success, says Penley, is a gift back to the Clemson golf program – just like Lucas Glover’s U.S. Open championship and Glover and Jonathan’s Byrd’s tiger-pawed duel at Charlotte last summer.

“Our guys know what it takes to get where they get where they want to go, because our players like Lucas and Jonathan and Charles and D.J. and Kyle have shown them,” Penley said recently.

“Last week DJ had a good week, too. There’s not much difference between the top 10 and a win – just a putt or two.”

Stanley’s victory marked the ninth straight season in which a former Clemson golfer has won a PGA Tour event – the longest streak of any program in the nation.

That’s something Penley can build on, as well.

“And the good thing is, they’re not through winning,” he said.